I am not a huge fan of fondue restaurants. It's fun to eat a lot of gooey cheese once in a while, but I don't want to have to actually cook my food over a hot rock, or in a pot of cheese, or in a bowl of broth. I generally think that if I go out to eat, the food should be cooked for me. That's the whole point of going out, right?
But when it comes to eating with friends, steamboat and its fondue-like process can be a ton of fun. Take a look at a steamboat meal we just shared with some good friends.
Steamboat is also known as hot pot, or shabu shabu. It's a meal where you heat a big bowl of broth until it's boiling, then float various goodies in it to cook. Everyone takes a turn putting in a handful or this or that, then you scoop out the cooked food and eat it with plenty of hot sauce.
The steamboat itself is a big divided pot that sits on a tabletop gas burner. My friend heated broth on the stove then poured it into the pot. (It's divided so that you can use two different sorts of broth in one meal, or keep spicy food divided from un-spicy food.)
We had piles and piles of good things on the table, waiting to be cooked. There were pea shoots, watercress, shiitake mushrooms (so meaty and delicious!), chopped beef, fish balls, meatballs of ground beef, tofu and fish cakes, creamy tofu, egg dumplings, cabbage dumplings, squid pieces, and fresh ocean shrimp.
Over the course of several hours we took turns putting in different foods. The beef would take a little longer to cook; the pea shoots would take a few seconds. We mixed up little bowls of hot Chinese sauce, with plenty of Sichuan pepper in it apparently, sesame oil, and soy sauce, for dipping.
The broth in the hot pot makes everything so tasty and savory; it gets rich and condensed as it boils away on the top of the table, and we would sip small amounts of it too, with noodles.
Overall, this was an absolutely fantastic meal to have with friends. Doing the cooking all together and eating out of the same pot feels both primitive and connecting. Plus you eat food that is hot! And slowly cooking food, eating it as it comes out, and having a long, leisurely meal filled with chatter and conversation is one of the best ways I can think of to spend an evening.
Have you ever had steamboat?
Related: Good Question: Tips for Fondue Party?
(Images: Faith Durand)
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My partner and I regularly do awesome chinese hotpot, just like his mom taught us. But, it's considered a winter thing, so the time for this kind of dinner is pretty much over. We always put in: mung bean noodle, bok choy, gai lan, mushroom, enoki mushroom, tofu (fried, soft, and puffy tofu balls), shrimp balls, fish balls, fish rolls, fake crab, and cabbage. The broth has to be SPICY!
Also we eat it by dipping the cooked food into a sauce made from: some mysterious chinese "bbq" sauce (i don't know what it's called), raw egg yolk, chili sauce, chopped green onion, and soy sauce all mixed together into a thick paste.
Hot Pot is an integral part of my growing up. It is so versatile, healthy and delicious and also perfect for east coast rainy winter to spring weather. These pictures made me really hungry and actually kind of nostalgic since it's been at least 2 months since I've had this.
PS: you should bend your wire strainers into a ladle-shape! Much easier to fish things out of the pot.
This is funny, I just had a hot pot meal for my birthday on Sunday. I had my parents over for their first one, it's always so much fun to have people over for hot pot!
During the winter months, I have a weekly tradition of perpetual hot pot nights. I'll invite 5 other people over and ask them each to bring one ingredient. I'll use the ingredients that people brought the previous week so that it's all ready when people come and also because most people forget to thaw the frozen stuff. That way all I have to provide each week is the fresh veggies. And I don't think you mentioned it, but we traditionally use raw eggs and "sa cha" or Chinese bbq sauce in our dipping sauces. Sooooo good! Here's my post about hot pot and how to make pork and fish meat balls for it: http://the-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.com/2008/12/one-of-few-holiday-traditions-my-family.html
yum! It makes tonight's homemade spaghetti sound not quite as appealing now!
http://thebluepearlgirl.wordpress.com
Wow this is such a great idea! I never thought of doing this at home... how much do those little burners cost? Can they be Craiglisted pretty cheaply?
I fell in love with shabu-shabu when I lived in Seoul, Korea for a few months. It's called "Mongolian Hot Pot" there and you put in paper thin slices of rare beef an enoki mushrooms. Here's a great source for the authentic pot (though a bit pricey): http://the-house-of-rice-store1.amazonwebstore.com/Mongolian-Hot-Pot-Stainless-Shabu-Shabu/M/B0007YN6S2.htm?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle
And I found an electric version that's not as pretty but doubles as a bbq grill:http://www.morekitchenappliances.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=SPT1241&refid=FR108-SPT1241
Katy
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com
Huo guo is my favorite food period. In Qingdao, China my regular place was called the Fat Cow and their sauce was awesome! It was peanut butter (possibly mixed with sesame butter as well) but thinner and spices. you could add cumin seeds, cilantro, onions and stuff. All the drippy food thinned down the peanut sauce and you can always add more chile. mmm. i need to go back. the korean place down the street from the Fat Cow (lots of korean businesses in Qingdao so lots of korean restaurants) served their hot pot with live octopus pressing the lids to get out. the waitress would come by with scissors when it was ready! the japanese teachers i was with assured me that pregnant octopus, exorbitant in japan, were delicious and i have to concur.
but regular (more veggie and tofu based) spicy korean hotpots are easy to do and delish!
Hotpot is my go-to dinner party format in the winter. All the kitchen-work is done ahead of time and the cook (me!) doesn't have to run around trying to time everything perfectly. It's also great for accommodating late-comers or unexpected guests.
The burner I bought cost around $30 and I spent another $30 for the divided pot, wire ladles and 4-pack of butane canisters. Pricey, but I also see it as a back-up cooktop in case of major power outage. I did see one at a charity shop once, but I imagine it's not a common find there or on Craigslist.
Do you think one could use an electric fondue pot like this one? Maybe for shabu-shabu for two? http://www.amazon.com/Rival-FD350S-Stainless-Electric-Fondue/dp/B00005UWGZ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1239985551&sr=8-3
We also do hotpot regularly. We just use our electric wok for the broth.
I've also found this works well for a dinner party of up to 8 (you may have to have 2 going at once for this) as it's quite social and everyone can eat whatever they like (no turning down of dishes or awkward moments).
You can make one pot vegetarian and one not if you like to also open more options to your guests.
I first did this in Japan (shabu shabu) where the server, dressed in kimono would come and "cook" the items for us in the pot on the table.
Has anyone tried to use their slow-cooker for this in a pinch? I know you won't get the same rolling boil but it should still cook things.
truenic, i don't know about a slow cooker, but i have used one of those buffet hot plates for keeping buffet dishes hot. What you do is get your pot boiling on the stove first, set up the hot plate on your serving table. When the broth is boiled, just put it on the hot plate and it will ensure the broth is bubbly hot (simmering temp, not boiling) for a long, long, LONG time - more than hot enough to cook all your food.
My in-laws do huo guo for just about every big family gathering. Although I immediately loved it, Christmas hot pot, I can do. It's a bit weird for Thanksgiving.
I think what they use is just an electric deep-frier... my husband got a slow-cooker thinking we could use it for this, but I've been hesitant to try it. It does get quite hot and simmer, though... I think if I boiled the broth and added it to the cooker, it would probably stay hot enough, if you put on the lid once in a while. If your slow cooker runs hot, you could try it, but I'd be prepared to bring it to the burner if it takes forever. Don't do it for a dinner party until you know it works.
So does everyone make there own soup? They pick thier ingredients then wait for them to be cooked, scoop it out and serve the next person? Or do you make one big pot and everyone eats it? I mean I guess either way would work, but what is the traditional way of doing it?
Orrrrr do you scoop the broth on top of people veggies and stuff?
I know I sound like an idiot but this has really intrigued me.